The Anopheles arabiensis genetic sexing strain ANO IPCL1 and its application potential for the sterile insect technique in integrated vector management programmes

• Published in: Acta tropica 2015-02, Vol.142, p.138-144
• Main Authors: Yamada, Hanano, Vreysen, Marc J.B., Bourtzis, Kostas, Tschirk, Wolfgang, Chadee, Dave D., Gilles, Jeremie R.L.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; ANO IPCL1; Anopheles - physiology; Anopheles arabiensis; Female; Genetic sexing strain; Malaria - parasitology; Malaria - prevention & control; Male; Mosquito Control - methods; Pest Control, Biological - methods; Sterile insect technique; Sterilization; Strain replacement
• ISSN: 0001-706X; 1873-6254
• DOI: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2014.11.013

•ANO IPCL1 strain considered for use in SIT programmes against Anopheles arabiensis.•The high natural sterility of ANO ICPL1 has advantages and disadvantages.•Untreated ANO IPCL1 males are equally competitive compared to wild-type strain.•Retention of dieldrin residues by treated males is highly controversial.•Use of dieldrin and bioaccumulation of residues makes strain unsuitable for AW-IVM. The Anopheles arabiensis genetic sexing strain ANO IPCL1 was developed based on a dieldrin resistant mutation. The strain has been shown to be practical and reliable in terms of female elimination by dieldrin treatments at larval stages, but has provided some difficulties when treatments were applied at the egg stage. The high natural sterility of this strain has advantages and disadvantages in both mass rearing and the sterilization process. In addition, its recombination rate, although relatively low, poses a threat of strain deterioration if left unchecked in a mass-rearing setting. The males of the ANO IPCL1 have been shown to be equally competitive as lab-reared males of the wild-type Dongola strain, but competitiveness decreased by half when irradiated with 75Gy – a dose conferring >98% sterility. More controversial issues surround the use of dieldrin – a highly persistent organochlorine that is known to bioaccumulate in the food chain. The prospective use of large volumes of dieldrin in a mass-rearing facility and the retention of its residues by the male mosquitoes makes the use of the strain in the context of the sterile insect technique against this vector highly questionable, and therefore its implementation at a large scale cannot be recommended.